Alarm Bells
by The Sharp Pen
Summary: Sasha is one gigantic walking alarm bell to Tom, and he does his best to avoid setting her off. But when a mission gone wrong leaves them fighting for their lives, will desire overcome duty? Or are there some bells that are just meant to stay unrung? Sasha/Chandler
1. Chapter 1

**Obviously if I owned the show, I wouldn't have to write fanfiction about it.**

It was supposed to be a routine mission.

At 0600 hours, Burke Snr. intercepted a stray MSS transmission detailing their own mission; a small contingent was currently aboard the CNS Kunming heading for yet another province, this one managed to escape the brunt of the red flu. MSS apparently wished to remedy this, and they were currently in route to one of the major villages in the area, with four missiles chock full of disease steroids. However, they were currently refueling at Xiachuan, which just so happened to be around the inlet Nathan James was parked in. But the cherry on top was that Peng's right hand man, the Tiger himself, was seeing to this run personally. It was the perfect trifecta. Take out a destroyer, the missiles, and the Tiger in one fell swoop. It was a risk, but a calculated one, with the odds working themselves out immensely in their favor.

A calculated risk. Boy were they bad at math.

It was decided that Captain Chandler should lead Vulture team with Sasha and Cruz, while Green would head up Bravo with Wolf and Burke. Vulture team would locate, secure, and deactivate the missiles, while Bravo sabotaged the refueling system. Then they would find the Tiger, and get the hell out of there. If all went as planned, they would be in and out under the cover of darkness, with no one the wiser.

Suffice to say, that did not happen.

* * *

"Bravo team arriving at refueling station, advising radio silence Vulture," Green's voice crackled over the radio. Chandler huffed as they approached the ramp onto the CNS Kunming. So far everything was going fine, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was all going to go sideways. Glancing over his shoulder at Sasha, he could see she felt the same. Her small frame was taught, eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. She met his gaze and gave a small shrug, as if to say _this is your ballpark Chandler._

"Roger that Bravo, radio silence from this point on." Chandler replied, his stomach twisting with unease. Taking a breath, he motioned for Sasha and Cruz to follow him aboard. Slowly they made their way across the deck, avoiding the few sentries that were dispersed throughout the ship. Besides them, and the occasional crew member, the ship seemed to be practically empty. _That's not right,_ he thought, and his stomach twisted even further.

"Tom." He turned at Sasha's whisper as she nodded at a door; the armory. The only place secure enough to store four large, heavily weaponized missiles. Easily one of, if not the most important room on a ship. The room that could stand in the way of keeping or losing command of the entire vessel.

It was left completely undefended.

Tom was certain his stomach now resembled some kind of contortionist.

Cruz had little difficulty with the door, and the three filed in. The room was small, with an area in front of the cage that held the weapons, about five feet from the door. Cruz stayed at the door as lookout, while Sasha picked the lock on the cage. The room was dark, as the only source of light was inside the cage.

"Sir!" Green's panicked voice crackled in his ear.

"Green, what happened to radio silence-" Tom's curt reply was cut once again by the young Lieutenant's panicked shouts.

"Sir, there is no one here, no engineering team, no equipment." Tom sucked in a breath as Sasha finished with the lock. He pressed his hand to his ear a they entered into the cage.

"What are saying?" Tom asked.

"I'm saying I don't think they ever left the ship sir. They're not here for fuel."

At that moment, Sasha flipped on the lights inside the cage and revealed... nothing. The entire armory had been emptied. Her bewildered expression was lost on him as everything clicked in his mind; the lack of crew, the unguarded door, and now Green's revelation.

"It's a trap."

Sasha's eyes widened and they quickly turned to alert Cruz, only to see that the young officer had a gun to his head, held by one of the five MSS soldiers that surrounded them, weapons trained on Sasha and Tom. The ship whirred to life around them; they could hear the engines turning on and picking up speed, pulling them away from the station and their only hope of rescue.

The man holding Cruz shouted something in Chinese. "He wants us to lay down our weapons," Sasha translated. By the look on her face, this guy was not messing around. With a sigh of defeat, they laid down their weapons, and kicked them over to the soldiers. Cruz's captor nodded in approval, and then gave an order to one of his men. He approached them, and began to frisk Chandler. After removing his spare pistol and tactical knife, he moved on to Sasha. Tom watched as the man ran his hands over her body, and anger swelled in his chest. He's certainly enjoying himself, Tom thought begrudgingly. The man was now checking her front torso, and decided that now was the perfect moment to cop a feel. Sasha responded in kind with a swift headbutt to the face. The man cried out in pain, and then began yelling insults, as his hand flew out and struck her across the face, with enough force to send her to floor.

"HEY," Tom shouted, surging forward toward the man. The cocking of one too many pistols stopped his rampage dead in its tracks, but he maintained a protective stance in front of Sasha, who had managed to clamber to her feet in defiance, with the help of his arm as a climbing pole.

"Enough," said a voice from behind the fray. Two of the men parted for the newcomer, which was none other than the Tiger himself. Living up to his name, he looked like the cat who caught the canary (which in this case he kind of did.) "Captain Chandler," he nodded politely, despite their current situation. His expression turned disdainful when he turned to Sasha. "Ambassador," he said coldly, "so good of you to respond to our invitation." His smirk returned, "Peng will be pleased we have found you, so, if you please, step back and get comfortable." He walked forward slowly, relishing Sasha and Tom's retreat into the cage. With resounding click he swung the gate close, effectively turning the cage into their prison. "You will remain here until we return to the capital, where you will tell us everything we want to know about the rebellion, Takehaya, and the United States government." With that he turned ans walked to Cruz, examining him with detached eyes. "You, however, have no information of value. Therefore, you are not worth keeping." With a flick of his hand as he left the room, the man holding Cruz forced him to his knees.

"NO!" Tom yelled, his blood running cold, "STOP NO!" Cruz just looked at him calmly.

"Tell my family I love them." he whispered, "You tell them Captain." He held Tom's eyes as his executioner cocked his pistol.

"We will," Sasha whispered, responding in Tom's stead. Tom nodded in agreement, not believing the scene unfolding in front of him.

Cruz sighed, shut his eyes, and lifted his chin in one last act of defiance. "Do your worst."

The shot rang out, and Cruz was gone.

 **Okay so I don't really know about this one. It was just and idea I had rattling around in my head, and I decided to let it out. I don't know how long it will be, but it will definitely have a lot of Sasha/Chandler. Also, I wrote this at 1 am, and I stink at description and tactical mission-y stuff, but that's done now, so bear with me. Hope you like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! Here's chapter two, it's not as long as I would have liked, but I think it turned out cute. There is some language, so... you have been warned.**

Tom's hands were still bleeding.

It might have been hours later, or only minutes, he wasn't sure. After they took Cruz away, all he could see was red. Pulsing, enraged, he beat at the bars, as if he could smash them with the force of his hatred. He had known Cruz for years; he was one of the finest he ever served with, calm, collected, expertly trained. All he wanted was to make his sister and nephews proud. Tom punched the bars again, splitting another knuckle. Blood began to ooze from the wound, red like his anger, like Cruz's blood, like Sasha's cheek-

Sasha.

In his anger he had completely forgotten her injuries. He whirled around to see her huddled in the corner, staring at nothing, eyes glazed over. He'd seen swings like that knock out beefed up meatheads, so it was a wonder she was even still conscious. She was also visibly shivering from the cold, or shaking from shock, he wasn't sure. _Dammit Tom she's going into shock, and you're beating at the cage like a goddamn caveman_ , he reprimanded himself.

"Sasha?" No response. He moved closer to her, lowering himself in front of her so he could check her eyes and pupil response. While he was no doctor, years of playing football taught him to respect the silent danger of a concussion, and he often looked over his more stubborn teammates. "Sasha I need you to talk to me," he rasped, still raw from the anguished yelling he had decided to partake in for God knows how long.

"You sound like shit," she whispered, dazed eyes locking onto his. He breathed a sigh of relief, as his hand slipped from her brow to her cheek. Wincing at the contact, she moved his hand away with her own.

"Sorry," he whispered, "Is it bad?" He tried to move back to check the bruise, Sasha held onto his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I've had worse." She gave a small smile, one that he was sure was meant to reassure him, but only fueled the guilt and anger that had settled in his stomach. Unable to find the words to respond, he merely squeezed her hand back, and then settled in next to her. He could feel her head beginning to droop; if she fell asleep now she might never wake up again.

"Hey, hey, none of that Cooper," he said, attempting to sound as Captainly as possible with his raw throat. "You stay awake, that's an order." She lifted her head slightly to look him in the eye, hers holding that perfect combination of defiance and amusement that only Sasha Cooper could pull off.

"I don't take orders from you, _Tom_ ," she shot back, emphasizing his first name. His soft laughter echoed in the cell, cutting through some of the darkness and misery that had held sway over their last few hours. He felt her head softly rest on his shoulder, her body instinctively moved closer to him, seeking out his warmth.

"You should laugh more often," escaped her lips in a sigh; she was still shivering, the hard metal and cement did nothing to warm her. Lifting her head gently, her slipped his arm around her, pulling her closer. She happily snuggled up into him, clutching at the front of his uniform, and resting her head on his chest, humming contentedly.

"Haven't exactly had many causes for laughter lately." The faces of all they lost flashed through his mind, and, before he could stop himself, he looked back over at the door. They hadn't bothered to wash any of the blood away.

"They killed him Tom," he heard her murmur. He looked down to see her staring at the dried blood as well, her face blank, eyes devoid of emotion. "They killed him."

"I know." He ran a tentative hand through her hair, trying in vain to soothe her, and also possibly himself.

"Why?" Sasha's broken cry pierced his heart; it was the same cry that had been pounding through his head as he smashed his fists into the bars that held them. The same cry that had permeated his life for the past three years. _Why him? Why now? Why is any of this happening?_

 _Why?_

Having no answer, he simply held her tighter, and waited for whatever was next.

 **Ya'll's reviews made. My. Day. Seriously, go have a cookie on me, because you are all wonderful! Hope it was okay!**


	3. Update on when I will Update (non-chap)

**Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I have NOT abandoned this story, nor will I be abandoning his story.**

 **I just started college, so my life is a little hectic right now, and I am SO tired all the time. I promise I will actually update by September 4th, I'll be home and actually have time to write and do it justice. But I just wanted to let you all know that you are amazing, and I will not leave you without an ending! I promise! I hope you all have a wonderful day, and thank you for your support!**

 **P.S You are all B-E-A-UTIFUL**!


	4. Chapter 3

**Just want to let ya'll know, this chapter takes kind of a dark turn. You have been warned.**

He awoke to the violent rolling of the ship.

The sounds of thunder and the slamming of waves into the hull made the already dark cell seem even more uninviting. This wasn't exactly helped by the freezing temperature of the ship, and the obvious disrepair that the vessel had fallen into. Water dripped from the ceiling, cracks ran along the wall, rats darted in and out from dark corners. As a human being, this naturally disgusted him, but as a Captain he felt shocked to his very core. A ship is a reflection of the crew, and more importantly the leadership. To let it fall so far… it definitely told him about the caliber of person they were stuck with.

Another wave hit, and Sasha jolted in his arms. Eyes alive with confusion and fear, she glanced wildly around the cell, until she saw his face. Realization hit her, the memory of yesterday washing over her. Anger and heartache flicked across her face, and at last settled on a composed, albeit tired, expression.

He moved as well, and they both became painfully aware of how close they were; his arms loosely wrapped around her torso, her legs thrown sideways across his lap. She cleared her throat, "Sorry," quickly untangling herself from him. The immediate absence of heat was striking, and he had to fight the urge to pull her back.

Sasha was up on her feet in an instant, examining the room and bars, for structural damage they could use to their advantage. The walls, albeit cracked, were solid, and the same went for the bars. However, just at the top of cell, where the bars met the ceiling and were secured, the water had rotted just enough to wiggle the bars. With the right tool, they could pry the bars loose, and make a hole big enough to escape through.

"Just one problem," Tom mused, "they took everything we could have used for a lever."

"Well we'll just have to see what fate gives us to work with." Sasha replied, with a small smile.

 _She always did love a challenge._ Only Sasha would have fun breaking out of cell, somewhere in the middle of the ocean, on board a foreign ship, filled with people who want to kill them. Even in the midst of all that was going on, he still marveled at how adept and unique of a woman she truly was. _And only you would find the time for romance aboard that very same ship. Ridiculous._

Just then, the door swung open, causing Tom and Sasha to jump away from the bars. The Tiger himself strolled in, with two armed escorts. The escorts yelled at them to move back, as the Tiger opened the cell door.

"I hope you slept well Captain," he crooned, sauntering over to Sasha, "My guards said that our… ambassador," spitting the word out like it left a bad taste in his mouth, "was more than willing to keep you warm last night." Running his hand down her back, Tom growled, but the pressing of a gun to his back kept him still.

"Let me be clear, I am not a cloak and dagger kind of man. I prefer everyone to know who they are dealing with." He chuckled, "I guess you could say I am a, how do you say, 'all cards on the table kind of man?" He chuckled again, "So, I do hope, for both your sake, that our lovely ambassador can find it in her heart to extend the same generosity she showed you to the rest of the crew." The hand that was stroking her hair now grabbed a fistful, and began to haul her out of the cell. Sasha screamed and kicked, but to no avail. Tom lunged after them, but was thrown back into the wall by the Tiger's henchmen. Closing the cell with a clang, the Tiger paused to yank Sasha upwards, causing her to cry out. He then stuck his nose into her hair, and sniffed, running it down her cheek. Tom could only watch in horror, as the Tiger laughed.

"This is what happens when you don't cooperate. Survive this, and then we will see how important your loyalty to your country is then." With that he dragged Sasha out behind him, who was screaming at him not to say anything. To not save her.

He didn't even have the choice to.

The last thing he remembers was screaming her name, and then a fist connected with his face, and everything went black.

 **MUAHAHAHA! I LOVE a good cliffhanger! And woo - hoo! September 4th with an hour to spare! (In Texas at least, lol.) Please tell me what you thought, and if any of you can guess what other TV show inspired this scene, and the one to come, you'll get a special treat!**


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